Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-28

ark as inside the ark. "The Lord shut
him in." Oh, the perfect safety OF the
arkl The surf of the sea and the light
nings OF the sky may be twisted into q
garland Of snow and tire-deep TO deep,
storm to storm, darkness to darkness; but
once in the ark, all is we'll. "God shut
him in"
There comes upon the good man a
deluge of financial trouble. He had his
thousands to lend; now he cannot borrow
a dollar. He once owned store in New
York, and had branch houses in Boston,
Philadelphia ana New Orleans. He
owned four horses, and employed man
to keep the dust Off his coach, phaeton,
carriage and curricle; now he has hard
work to get shoes III which TO walk. The
great deep OF commercial disaster was
broken up, and fore, and aft, and across
the hurricane deck, the waves struck
him. But he was safely sheltered from
the storm. ''The Lord shut hlm in" A
flood of domestic troubles fell on him.
Sickness and bereavement came. The
rain pelted. The winds blew. The heav-
ems are aflame. All the gardens of earth
ly delight are washed away. The foun-
tains OF joy are buried fifteen cubits deep.
But, standing by the empty crib. and IN
the desolated nursery, and In
the doIeful hall, once airing
forever, he cried: s'The Lord gave, the
Lord hath taken away; blessed be the
name of the Lord" "Tbe Lord shut him
in" All the sins of lifetime clamored
for his overthrow. The broken VOWS, the
disnonored Sabbaths, the outrageous
profanities, the misdemeanors of twenty
years, reached up their hands to the
door OF the ark to pull him out. The
bOundless ocean OF his sin surrounded
his soul, bowling like simoom, raving
like an eurocIydon. But, looking out OF
the window, he saw his sins sink like
lead into the depths of the sea. The
dove of heaven brought an Olive-branch
to the ark. The wrath of the billow only
pushed him toward heaven. "Tne Lord
shut him in."
The same Notwithstanding that kept
Noah in keep the world out. ! am glad to
know that when a man reaches heaven
all earthly troubles arc done with him.
Here he may have had it hard to get bread
for his family; there he will never hunger
any more. Here he may have wept pit
terly; there "the Lamb that is In the midst
of the throne will lead him TO living fOun-
Uains of water, and God will wipe away
all tears from his eyes," Here he may
have hard work to get house; but in my
Fathers house are many mansions, and
rent day never comes. Here there are
death beds, and collins, and graves; there
no sickness, n0Weary watching, no chok-
ing cough, no consuming fever. no chat
tering chill, no tolling bell, no grave. The
sorrows of life shq, come up and knock
at the door, but mo- 'sdmittance. The per-
peXIties of life shall come up and knock
ON the door, but no admittance. Safe for
ever. All the agony of earth in one wave
dashing against the bulwarks of the ship
of celestial light shall not break them
down. Howl on, ye winds, and rage, We
seasl The L0rd-''the Lord shut him in"
o, what a grand old door! so wide, so
easily swung both ways, and with such
sure fastenings. No burglars key can
pick that lock. No swarthy arm of hell
can shove back the bolt. rejoice that |
do not ask you to come aboard crazy
craft with leaking hulk, and broken helm,
and unfastened door; but an ark fifty
cubits wide, and three hundred cubits
long. and door so large that the round
earth, without grazing the posts, might
be bowled in.
Now, if the ark OF Christi is so grand
place in which to live, and die, and
triumph. come into tue ark. Know we'll
that the door that shut Noah in shut the
world out; and though, when the pitiless
storm came pelting on their
heads. they beat upon the door,
saying: "Let me inl let me imp
the door did not open. For 120 years
they were invited. They expected to
come in; but the Antediuvian said !:
'We must cultivate these fields; we must
be worth more flOcks of sheep and herds
of cattle; we will wait until we get a
little older; we will ENJOY our old farm
little longer" But meanwhile the storm
was brewing. The fountains of heaven
we're filling up. The pry was being placed
beneath the foundations OF tue great
deep. The last year had come, the last
month, the last week, the last day. the
last hour, the last moment. In an awful
dash, an ocean dropped from the sky, aud
another rolled up from beneath; and God
rolled the earth ana sky into one wave of
universal destruction.
So men now put off going into the ark.
They say they will wait twenty years
first. They will have a little longer time
with their worldly associates. Tney Will
wait until they get older. They say: "You
cannot expect man OF my attainments
and of my position to surrender myself
just now. But bsfore the storm comes
will 70 in. Yes, L will. know what
am about. Trust me-" After awhile, one
night about II O'Clock, gong home he
passes a scafOlding as a gust OF wind
strikes 1t, and plank falls, Dead and
outside the arkl Or, riding in the park,
reckless vehicle crashes into him, and
his horse becomes unmanageable, and he
shouts, "Whoai WhUav and takes ap-
other twist in the reins, and plants his
feet against the dashboard, and pulls
back. But no use. 1t is not 80 much
down the avenue that he flies as on
the way to eternity. Out OF the
wreck OF the crash his BODY is drawn, but
mis- soul is not PICKED up. 1t fed behind
a swifter courser into the great future.
Dead! and outside the ark! Or, some
night he wakes up with distress, that
mOmentarily increases, until he shrieks
out with pain. Tue doctors come in, and
they give him twenty drops, but no re-
lief; forty drops, fifty drops, sixty drops,
but no relief. No time for prayer. No
time 10 read one OF the promises. No time
to get q single sin pardoned. The whole
house is aroused in alarm; the children
screnm; the wife faints; the pulses fail;
the neart stops; the soul flies. Oh, my
God! dead, and outside the ark.
have no doubt that derision kept
many people out OF the ark. The world
laughed TO see man 60 In, and said:
"Here IS q man starting for the ark.
Why, there will be no deluge. II there
is one, that miserable ship will not wealth
er 1t. Ahal going into the arkl Well,
that is too good to keep. Here, fellows,
have you heard the newsp This man 10
going into the ark" Under this artIl-
lery OF scorn the mans good resolution
perished.
And 80 there are hundreds kept out by
the fear of derision. The young man